1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a position related information presentation system, a position related information presentation method and a recording medium recording control program thereof, and more particularly, to an information supply system that displays area information which is information related to a of town information, etc. on a three-dimensional map using a computer system.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As a conventional information supply system of this type, a system that presents area information which is position-related information such as town information using a computer system in a user-friendly fashion is proposed.
For example, a method of displaying information superimposed on a two-dimensional map is disclosed in the Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 9-34902 (reference 1). According to this technology, the user can use this method to obtain map information and information related to positions on the map such as advertisement all together and make a preliminary inquiry about information on a place before the user actually visits the place.
Furthermore, a technology for preventing information presented on a map from superimposing with each other is disclosed in the Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 11-174951 (reference 2). According to this technology, it is possible to display only information belonging to a specific category, hide other information and display information in an easy-to-see way.
For example, suppose an application that searches for area information on the current position while freely walking around on a three-dimensional map as shown in FIG. 2. The purpose of this application is to allow the user to experience a place on a simulated form by walking around in the three-dimensional map and collect information related to the place.
To realize such an application, the methods described in the above reference 1 and reference 2 can be used as the methods of displaying information superimposed on a map. However, simply adopting these methods involves the following problems.
According to the techniques described in reference 1 and reference 2, the user is supposed to see a two-dimensional map from above, and therefore when the user stands in that place in the real world, even information that the user actually cannot see due to the shadows of buildings, etc. is searched. In this case, it is necessary to present with higher priority information on positions that the user can see from that place.
Furthermore, the method whereby the user walk around on the three-dimensional map includes variations such as speed and height, and the type of information required varies depending on the user. For example, when the user is moving fast, the user needs rough information. On the other hand, when the user is moving slowly, the user needs more detailed information. The techniques described in reference 1 and reference 2 do not presuppose the method of use of the user walking around, and therefore cannot select information to be presented according to the way the user walks on the map.
Moreover, in the case when information which the user wants to search for is clear, the user may use a method of searching using keywords, etc. and pasting the search results on the map instead of the method of searching for area information while walking around on the three-dimensional map. However, since the techniques described in reference 1 and reference 2 are modes in which a two-dimensional map is seen from above, the problem is that it is difficult to grasp a relationship between a location on the map and the current location. Furthermore, there is commercially available map software capable of searching for a shortest path between two points, making it possible to display the shortest path from the current location to the location searched for. However, the shortest path is not always convenient to the user and this software does not allow the user to freely move in a certain direction of interest and walk around to a place related to the search result, that is, walk around on the map with a high degree of freedom.